Soulless
by colbyjackchz
Summary: When possible ends of the world causes were proposed by the media no one included zombie apocalypse. As a result of a believed government experiment spun out of control 95% of humans turned into Walkers. This is a group's story of survival through it all
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It is the middle of the night when he hears it. The scratching. Doctor David curses as jolts awake from where he was supposed to be on watch. Damn it, he had fallen asleep. Looking around the dark bus, he sees that everyone is still sleeping soundly...was it his imagination?

Doctor David exhales a breath, running his hand through his balding hair with frustration. He couldn't believe that they were in this situation...sleeping in a bus and hiding from them...the undead. When the alert first sounded that a top-secret government project had gone horribly wrong and the virus plague started to spread, people were suddenly almost slapped out of their daze. So now almost everyone in the country was affected that Doctor David knew of.

He was able to save some survivors that he had found in the city, hiding. They had found this bus and made it a temporary home being able to drive from place to place easily. It was the middle of the night and they were still asleep, so it had to be his imagination.

Doctor David leaned back in the driver's chair and sighed, his imagination, sometimes! There was silence for a few moments when he heard something...the scratching again. Freezing, he looked to his left slowly, seeing the hideous face of a zombie, looking straight at him with its soulless, bloodthirsty eyes. Time to move, quickly. The windows weren't bullet proof...and where there was one zombie, there were many.

It was just a matter of time before- a screech filled the silent night and Doctor David roared the bus to life as dozens of undead bodies crashed against the side of the bus, hungry for the living.

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you like it so far! :D I love The Walking Dead and so I decided a fic would be amazing to write! Please review and let me know what you think :) I promise the first chapter will be up soon!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

We're stopping for gas," Doctor David yelled over the rattled roar of the school bus engine.

Sitting near the middle of the bus, in a seat beside her best friend sat Shelby Allen. Her shoulder length, curly brown hair was out of its ponytail once again so she just yanked it out, sticking the yellow band on her wrist for later. She propped her jeaned legs up on the seat in front of her, glancing at her best friend Astin Harlin to the right of her. His pale green eyes met her darker green ones and seemed to be perplexed.

"Hm?" Astin muttered.

"Nothing," Shelby replied quaintly, looking out the window at the wide expanse of field mixed with forest further on go by slowly.

It wasn't that they were going slow, it just seemed that way on busses. At least some things stayed the same after what seemed like everything in the world had changed. Less than a month ago Shelby had a normal high school life, almost through her junior year of high school and having the time of her life. Even though her high school was relatively small in a suburb called Roseland on the outskirts of the big city of Atlanta, Georgia, it didn't bother her. Her little town provided security, was a great place to grow up, and had enough entertainment to sustain the high school students.

It was merely a month ago when this disaster broke all hell loose. It seemed to strike without warning. Sure, some bogus newspapers that everyone discredited for the usual information that was obviously bull wrote about something going wrong, but that was about it. The warning came way too late it seems, giving some in the big cities only days to get out…that is, if they made it out alive. The common belief was that the government was testing a new vaccine of some type that got out of control.

Of course no one could prove anything at that point because it was spreading so quickly. The side effects of the virus were unlike those ever displayed to the human race before accept in fictitious novels, they included what was known as Zombieism in Shelby's mind. Normally it would result in a type of insanity from the brain, turning from human thought to a monster or predator mind set. It was typically thought of as being spread by a bite, which is how everyone assumed it was transferred so rapidly. The unsuspecting and unknowing people would get bit, then anywhere between a few hours and one to three minutes, they would reanimate into one of the monsters themselves.

The disease was believed to work by destroying the host's brain cells which results in the blood and flesh crazed zombie, called a walker. The walkers would find more victims and cause the population to shoot up until 95% of the beings on earth were now walkers. They knew that they weren't the only ones left but one thing they did know for sure was that they were outnumbered probably more than 10 walkers to 1 human. Despite those discouraging odds somehow Shelby's group were able to survive on what little they had left, which consisted of memories, psychologically at least.

So it seemed that finding other survivors was their main mission, that and to survive themselves. Though what worried her was the fact that they hadn't found anyone yet, that and the possibility of spending the rest of her days running.

Shelby came out of her thoughts as the bus shut off. She realized they had pulled into an old gas station and it was beginning to grow dusk.

"Hey, you okay? You've been kind of quiet for the past thirty minutes or so," Astin said from beside her.

Shelby sat up in the seat and met his eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine, just tired," She replied with a yawn.

Astin nodded, "Well if you're sure. I know you've been doing a lot of thinking lately…"

Shelby stiffened, knowing instantly what he was talking about. Oh, she didn't want to think about that now…it was just too painful. Repressing it was easier though waking up from her dreams at night of him made her cry herself back to sleep.

Shelby looked down, "Yeah well it wasn't about him."

Astin reached over and pulled her against his shoulder into a half hug of sorts.

"It's not your fault," he assured.

Shelby returned the embrace, squeezing her eyes shut into his soft blue t-shirt. After a moment or two she pulled away, fixing her bangs.

"I know."

Astin gave her a slight smile and turned around to notice that some of the others were getting up. Since they were parked at a gas station and had been driving since before Shelby had woken up it was a good opportunity to stop and stretch their legs, that and bathroom breaks. Of course none of the bathrooms would be functional…so they just had to make due with the facilities how they were.

Sometimes if they were lucky the convenience store they would stop at would have some type of stored snacks or food, but it didn't happen very often.

After people became aware of the seriousness of the outbreak many rushed to the stores, grabbing all the food they could transport and high tailing out of the store. Some didn't even pay so it was like a dirty free for all. After all, who had what control or sense after the end of the world seemed to be upon North America (and possibly the rest of the world) as a result of some type experiment by the United States Government?

Luckily Doctor David was one of those packrats and had a few supplies in the bus, which was able to sustain everyone so far. What they didn't have they could either make due without it or take the chance to go into one of the cities to replenish the stock. No runs of that nature had to be made yet though with the stock decreasing all the time, the day was coming closer.

No one in their right mind would want to take the chance of being killed…but it was inevitable to take risk if they wanted to survive. So for now they made due off of what they had and what they could scavenge from convenience stores on their way to wherever they were going.

"Let's go," one of the people in the back said.

Of their small group of 11 everyone seemed to get along pretty well. Astin and Shelby were the only ones of their age, though there was a 21 year old, a college girl from Georgia State before the apocalypse, named Avery Schar. Fiery was pretty much the only world that described her and ironically her many lengths auburn hair kind of matched her personality. She was a girl that would go for what ever the challenge could be, no matter the danger or difficulty.

Avery gave Shelby a wily grin as she filed out of the bus, a black pump shotgun in her hand. The thing they seemed to have plenty of was weapons. But that was only a result of luck on the way out of Atlanta. Shelby could remember it clearly. They were flying down a back road by I-75 when they came across a small gun store. It had a multitude of hunting weapons, rifles, shotguns, handguns, ammunition, and about anything else you could think of that went along with weapons. It was mostly raided but they were able to still acquire quite a bit of weaponry.

So that's where Avery seemed to be in heaven, since she said she used to go hunting with her father all the time as a child. She was just as good of a shot as some of the men, which said a lot for her young age. The pump shotgun had struck her fancy so it was like her signature weapon.

She disappeared over the edge of the front seat, filing out for a quick raid and break while Doctor David filled up the bus with fuel.

"Would you like to stretch? We can see if there is anything in the convenience store," Astin suggested as Doctor David got off last.

Shelby left the black leather jacket she always wore…after him…and grabbed a shotgun from the box they had nailed down in the back. Handing it to Astin she a small handgun for herself and proceeded out of the bus.

With tingly legs from sitting so long She was a bit uneasy on her feet, though it wore off after just a bit of walking. Astin climbed out behind her and they went around the bus to head for the convenience store that looked trashed. Everyone else was either roaming around close to the bus or inside the trashed store.

Surveying the land she noticed unused cars just sitting in the parking lot, trash spread everywhere, and just plain desolation. All of the store's huge glass windows were busted out, little bits of glass sprinkling the area. As Astin and Shelby got closer they noticed shelves toppled over, trash littering the tile floor, and huge freezers hanging open. The door was wide open, half snapped off at the top probably from mobs of people, so they walked right in.

"Eli and I have found some water so far. There's still that left half of the store by the cash register and those shelves over there to search if you two are interested. Liam and Henry are patrolling the outside so they can give the warning if any walkers come near. This area has been searched too," Avery called from the far corner of the small store.

"We'll start over here," Astin called back.

Shelby took one side of the shelf and Astin took the other where they then lifted it easily. Getting down on her haunches Shelby searched through the rubble, finding nothing but a three small Rice Crispy bars. Those were actually a really good find, which would bring a smile to little Victoria.

She was Sarah and Henry's daughter with the blondest hair you would ever see on a 10 year old. Victoria was the only child of their group and was guarded heavily by the group as well as her parents. Henry, her father, was one of the defenders of the group though he had little firearm experience. He caught on fast after being given instruction from some of the older guys (himself being in his early 40's along with his wife Sarah) that worked out surprisingly well.

Henry was over six foot and had short cropped blonde hair a bit darker than his daughter, sort of like an army haircut. His wife, Sarah, had light brown hair and was a medium sized woman. Though she was a skinny lady, she was still very powerful in the way of comfort for the group. When they were in difficult situations or something had gone wrong, Sarah was one of the major ones in keeping them together.

Shelby shoved the treats into her bag and continued sifting through the remains with Astin working diligently to her left.

"Found anything?" Shelby asked him.

Astin looked up and shook his head, making his dark hair fall in his pale green eyes. They finished with the area and found nothing more, heading over to the next shelf and moving it as the last one was done.

"I see some trail mix it looks like," Astin said, perking up as he grabbed the four small bags of trail mix under the shelf.

"Hey, first find for you in a while," Shelby said with a smile.

Astin shoved the food in his pocket and high fived her, "You got that right."

They continued to search their area as assigned by Avery and headed back over to help her, not finding anything else. She had most of her body back in one of those fridges to keep drinks cool, reaching back to add to the pile of water she had found. Shelby sat back on her haunches as Avery came back out to add another bottle.

"Anything?" Avery asked.

Astin was standing beside where Shelby was crouching, hand stuck in the pockets of his dark jeans.

"I found some trail mix and Shelby has a couple Rice Crispy treats," Astin replied.

Avery frowned, diving back in the fridge. It wasn't much but that was typical…supplies seemed to be getting more and more scarce these days. What there was happened to be always either picked through or not existent at all anymore.

"I swear one day we're just all going to whither up and die. Walkers won't be the death of us, but lack of resources," Avery grunted.

There was definitely some truth to her words. With resources getting scarcer and scarcer, in the area they were in at least, made it hard to survive with the frequent walker disturbances set aside. Somehow they were able to make it though, which was a bit of hope.

"I guess that is reasonable considering the circumstances…where is Eli?" Astin asked.

Avery came back out of the fridge, wiping her dusty hands on her cargo pants and shutting the door…even though the glass was gone. She stood up on her tippy toes and looked around, seeing nothing, and grabbed the water bottles.

"I'm assuming he went to the back. There's probably a chance of some supplies in their storage areas you know? We should head there now," Avery responded, stuffing the ten or so bottles of water in her pack.

She grabbed her black pump shotgun with a grin and loaded it, "Just for good measure."

They maneuvered around a couple more shelves and a whole bunch of rubble from where evidently part of the ceiling had caved in. To the left they found the hallway where the restrooms were on the left and right and an Employees Only labeled door was. It was standing wide open and was pretty dark…so they all got out their flashlights.

Avery had her gun poised as well as Astin as they entered the now a bit illuminated room. Around it looked like it had been ransacked just as all of the other parts of this place. Shelves were pushed over everywhere and empty boxes lay scattered on the concrete floor of this once meticulously organized storage room.

Shelby manned one of their two flashlights and scanned the room for walkers. Her body automatically tensed as she noticed a half torn apart walker lying in the corner. Most of its innards had been most likely eaten by other walkers, leaving parts of flesh gruesomely strung around the body, and rib cage protruding from what was left of it's stomach.

Shelby tried to keep her stomach under control as she quickly cast the flashlight's beam in the opposite direction of the body. Avery kept them moving forward slowly, shotgun poised incase anything decided to sneak up on them. Casualties weren't permitted as long as she was around, at least with out a fight.

"I think we're clear…" Avery whispered, beginning to lower her shotgun.

Out of the dark where the light wasn't pointed a figure walked into the flashlight beam, directly in front of Avery. She jumped back about a foot, knocking Shelby and her flashlight to the ground.

Avery was just a split second from shooting when the figure spoke, "Avery! It's me!"

She stopped short and turned a flashlight on the figure, which revealed a startled Eli standing there with a box of something in his hand. Avery sighed and lowered her gun with a furious expression.

"Shit Eli! I was a couple of seconds from putting a bullet in your head," she said, breathing heavy.

Eli looked at the ground, running his hand through his scraggly brown hair. He looked a bit shocked but at the same time apologetic to them. Astin luckily had been able to catch Shelby, though the flashlight wasn't so lucky, and had her arm. In case of walker he had to be ready to get her out of there. Astin was very protective since… Shelby couldn't even say it.

"I…Sorry I…I thought you saw me," Eli apologized.

Avery shook her head with a huff, grabbing her stuff and looking pretty angry but at the same time shocked. Astin gave Shelby a reassuring glance and squeezed her shoulder when they turned around to follow Avery and Eli out of the dark room. Everyone seemed to be done here so they marched out the…where the door was supposed to be…of the store and headed back in the direction of the bus. Shelby was looking at the ground when Astin nudged her.

"Doing okay?" He asked.

Astin was really diligent about making sure she was at least as content as possible. Really, who could be happy in a zombie apocalypse?

She nodded, "Yeah, I thought he was a walker though. I haven't came so close to one since…"

She trailed off, looking back at the ground and gathering all the pain and sadness to try to push it away for once. It had only been less than a week since it happened…though sometime or another she had to say it. This grief probably wasn't going to go away, at least not anytime soon, but it had to be faced one way or another. Looking back up into Astin's pained eyes she reminded herself that he was here for her no matter what. He cared and would help her get through this because he had losses to deal with too.

"You don't have to say it," Astin started.

They boarded the bus and were the only ones on besides an older man, Ross, who dwelled mainly in the back of the bus and didn't come out on stops unless necessary. Right now he was in the back, slumped against one of the seats and asleep. Who knows, a herd of walkers maybe couldn't even wake him.

Shelby slid in the seat that Astin and her had made pretty much home for the past few days and looked out the window at the now almost set sun. Astin sat down beside her when she spoke.

"I know I don't have to say it…but if I just keep pushing it off and pushing it off then how am I going to ever get this grief under control? Maybe facing the pain would help," Shelby responded, still looking out the window.

"Shelby…you don't always have to be brave you know," Astin said, pausing.

"You're one of the bravest girls I know or have known for that matter. I could never be as strong as you and I know I never will be. What you're going through now is pretty much universal for every one of us that isn't a walker. I know you already know this but I'm here for you. I him too even if it wasn't in the same way," Astin said, starting in a normal voice but ending in a whisper.

Shelby let the meaning in his words sink in, closing her eyes and letting out a long sigh. Just the fact that he cared that much kept her going. Other than her best friend Astin there was nothing else in this world that could keep her going, or from just ending what she knew she probably wasn't going to survive anyway.

"I know…thank you for that. You're all I have left. But if I don't talk or think about anything that has to do with him…all this pain will just be repressed. It won't ever go away if I don't face it and start to let it go, along with the losses of our families," Shelby responded.

"You don't have to so soon though…I know it hurts."

"Now is as good as ever Astin…as I said, pushing it off isn't going to make it any better," Shelby whispered.

She could feel big tears welling up in her eyes. Shelby wiped a couple that had already slid down her cheek and blinked the rest away.

"Every day does hurt. From the moment he turned I knew it was going to, bad, even though the shock suppressed the pain at that moment. Every time I even try to think about it…I just can't stop crying. I mean he was everything to me…I loved him so much," Shelby whispered a few more tears sliding down her cheeks.

Astin was looking at the black floor of the bus with his jaw clenched.

"If I could have held onto him…if I would have stayed with him…things might have been different…I- it could have been me instead of him-"

Astin shook his head furiously, grabbing Shelby by the shoulders and looking her in the eyes. Shelby had never seen him this fierce…besides when he was facing walkers. Through her teary eyes she could see his green eyes blazing and teeth clenched as he gripped her shoulders hard.

"Shelby Allen! Don't you _ever _say that again! Don't you even try to blame yourself for this either because it wasn't your fault!" Astin hissed.

He seemed to have calmed down now and his eyes softened. Shelby wasn't too sure what to think of the outburst, but obviously he had to mean well. Astin then pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Please don't do this to yourself…"

Shelby wrapped her arms firmly around his middle and cried the remainder of her tears into his warm shoulder. She couldn't help put the blame on herself though…because she was the one whose hand his was ripped out of. She could remember him telling her to take the lead while they were running through that herd…because she knew he wanted to be the one that was bitten if it did happen. Foolish and selfish, she did as he said…

Another sob wracked her body just as she thought the tears wouldn't come anymore. Astin held her tight and stroked her hair, which was helping more than she could ever convey to him.

Shelby thought about that evening just merely a couple days ago. About the last time she saw him, before he was zombified that is. It was amazing how she could remember every detail about the moment that he was taken away from her…

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><p><strong>AN: Well there you go! The first chapter, finally haha. I'm trying to make the actual places (such as Atlanta) as real as possible so to say. By that I mean the different towns they stop in being real towns. Other than that the places they will stop, for example a school like Rick went to in The Walking Dead, could be or not be real in this fic, it would just depend. Anyways, hope you enjoyed.**

******A review would just absolutely make my day, and who knows? It could mean faster updates ;) **


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_It was just like every other Friday night for Shelby. Nothing was special, nor could anything warn of the imminent danger that was about to change her life forever, and not in a good way. That afternoon she arrived home on schedule to find her mother watching the news as usual. Shelby kicked off her dark blue Chucks at the door and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. _

"_Shelby you might want to watch this…I've ever since I came home. I'm not entirely sure what is happening," her mother said, taking her hand and meeting her brown eyes with Shelby's green ones. _

_Shelby fiddled with her necklace of miscellaneous charms with her other hand and showed little interest to the news reporter. Most of the news was exaggeration anyway, which didn't interest her._

"_If I get finished getting ready early. Remember, I'm going out skating with Astin and Gale tonight?" Shelby questioned. _

"_Oh…well…" _

_Her mother bit her lip and was about to say something else when Shelby stood up, giving the television screen one last look before she bounded up the stairs to her room to get dressed. Her mother ran her fingers through her short brown hair and leaned back against the old brown couch, focusing on the television. _

_Upstairs Shelby was tearing through her small closet to find her black v neck t-shirt. It seemed like a comfortable day, so what was better than just a plain shirt that was cute and comfortable at the same time? She found it hiding between a purple blouse and a green tee, grabbing some dark jeans to go with it. She laid both of the articles of clothing on her purple comforter covered bed and took off her black jacket._

_Quickly getting dressed she headed to the bathroom to wash her face and fix that mess that they called hair. She sighed as she dropped her shoulder length hair from its ponytail and began to comb it out. Her mother had always said she had beautiful hair though sometimes that was hard to believe when it decided to have frizzing episodes. _

_After finishing that she quickly brushed her teeth and made sure she was fine on time, which she was. Grabbing a hair tie from a hook in the bathroom, she put it on her wrist along with a couple string friendship bracelets that had been given to her by her friend Stephanie a year or so ago. Surveying the mess that her room was she frowned, picking up a couple stray articles of clothing on the floor and sticking them on her bed, reminding herself to pitch that in the laundry basket when she got home. _

_The bag she always carried as a 'purse' to use as a loose term (which was really just a black messenger bag) was sitting in her black computer/desk chair in the corner. She grabbed that and threw it over her shoulder, shutting off the room's light and taking the stairs two at a time. _

"_I'm heading out mom! I'll be back sometime after nine at the latest," Shelby called, getting to the bottom of the stairs and heading for the front door. _

"_I don't know Shelby…the news is saying something about sickness-" _

"_I promise I'll be fine mom. It's just a bit of a walk to the skating rink. I love you," Shelby interrupted, shutting the door lightly behind her. _

_Her mother tried to swallow the uneasy feeling she was getting, combating it with her daughter's responsibility that had gotten her out of tough situations before if they were presented. Something just didn't feel right in the pit of her stomach, but then again, how was she to know that was the last time she would see her daughter? _

_Shelby breathed in the fresh air of the Atlanta evening and walked down her small street in sort of in the suburbs, but then again not. For living there all her life these roads she knew like the back of her hand, which was helpful getting place to place since she didn't have her own car yet even though she was almost seventeen. Thank goodness everything was just a few blocks distance for a walk. _

_The streets seemed busier than usual today, with more cars flooding them and more people out for walks, which she blamed on the wonderful weather this evening. Excitement filled her as she neared the rink, seeing a many teens like her crowded around the outside just chatting in groups._

"_Shelby!" Someone called to her left as she just passed one of the chatty groups. _

_Turning her head to the left she noticed the tall, lean figure of her best friend Astin approaching. To his left was her boyfriend, Gale, with a smile on his face lighting up his pale green eyes. His hair was dark and long, waving on the ends a bit. He was almost as tall as Astin, who was an about two inches taller than Shelby, but not quite. She smiled at them both, giving Astin a bear hug and the same for Gale, who lifted her up. _

"_Nice to see you again," he murmured in her ear. _

_She laughed as he set her back on her feet. It had been a while since they had all gone out to do something, all being packed with school stuff. There was hardly any time for anything anymore._

"_I missed you guys," Shelby grinned. _

"_You just saw us today!" Astin said._

_Shelby shrugged, "Shall we skate?" _

"_I'd say that's a lovely idea," Gale responded, intertwining his fingers with hers and leading them all through the crowds of people. _

_They headed inside the small rink and paid for their skates, finding a bench to sit on to lace them up. _

"_It's been ages since I've been skating," Shelby thought aloud, finishing up lacing her left skate._

"_Well I'm the master skater here so if you need some lessons," Astin grinned smugly._

_He worked part time at this rink, so he always got the chance to perfect his skating skills. Shelby wouldn't be surprised if he was skating circles around her and Gale all night. _

"_You don't have to be a smug little bitch about it," Gale teased. _

"_Yeah, not all of us get paid to skate," Shelby said, sticking her tongue out at him. _

_Astin laughed, finishing lacing up his shoes at about the same time Shelby did. Gale finished last and everyone stood up, Shelby slipping a little bit and falling back into what would have been brick wall of Gale hadn't steadied her. _

"_Not a good way to start out," Gale teased, taking her hand._

"_Need me to get the other? Then it can be considered a full on escort," Astin snickered. Shelby rolled her eyes, "No I'm fine. Thank you wise guy. This is going to be a long night." _

_In fact it seemed to go quickly though and what seemed like 20 minutes turned out to be an hour. During the slow/ couple skating Gale skated with her while Astin talked with the DJ that he obviously knew from working here. At first she was a bit uneasy on her feet, though as always she caught on eventually (with a little bit of Gale's help too). _

_Like she guessed, Astin lapped them time after time, grinning like a maniac the whole time. Over all it turned out to be a pretty fun night so far. After finishing their drinks and split nachos, Gale and Shelby got up to join Astin who was skating about like a pro, going round and round the rink at top speed pretty much the whole night. _

_Gale took Shelby's hand as they moved through the crowd by the snack bar to get to the entrance to the rink. Just as they were about to go inside the music stopped…just out of nowhere everything stopped. The disco ball that was shining multi-colored light on the rink the whole time went dark, leaving the only light to be coming from the lit area around the skate rental and snack bar. You could hear the sounds of girls screaming, but was followed by laughter._

"_Skating in the dark, never heard of that one before," Gale chuckled. _

_Astin saw them just before everything went dark and skated through the dim light that the snack bar was giving out to where Shelby and Gale were standing against the short concrete wall around the rink. _

"_Does this happen regularly?" Shelby giggled. _

_Astin looked a bit concerned with a frown on his place in replacement of his normal smile. Astin was hardly ever grim by any means so instantly Shelby's red flags were going up. If he was upset then there definitely was something wrong, though he could hide it pretty well if it was emotional stuff._

_Astin shook his head, "No…I'm not sure what is going on. I think I'm going to go talk to Brian running the music to see what's up-" _

_That's when they heard it…what sounded like a mini atomic bomb was going off in the door. More people screamed and Gale's grip tightened on Shelby's waist as all heads were pointed at the door way. _

_It looked like a brigade of army men had just infiltrated an enemy base or something. AK-47's were in the clutches of each soldier who was coated from head to foot in camouflage except for their black combat boots. What looked like full-face motorcycle helmets, except camouflaged and built for combat, adorned their head. Where their eyes normally could be seen, sunglass-like material covered that part of the helmet. _

_The men seemed to be shouting things to each other through some kind of speaker system with headsets used through their helmets Shelby guessed. Most people were screaming and all Shelby could do was stand there, stunned. What on earth were these men doing? What was going on? _

_Her head was a jumbled mess with questions when she felt Gale pull her, "Come on! We need to get out of here. Astin try to find our table to get our shoes."_

_Astin did as Gale said and took the lead with Shelby hanging onto the back of his shirt as they fought their way through the chaotic, screaming crowd. Several people were on the ground after tripping over the skates everyone wore, which added to the difficulty of getting around. _

_Shelby stepped over a man who was fighting to get up and she felt a pang when she knew she couldn't help him. Luckily their table wasn't that far away and the piled in, quickly unlacing their skates, throwing them under the table. Astin was the first to get his skates off and laced up his blue Converse easily. Shelby did the same from across the table and they all seemed to finish up quicker that usual. _

"_Let's go! Quickly," Astin gestured. _

_Gale grabbed Shelby's arm and Shelby grabbed Astin's shirt again as they tried to fight through the crowd. From outside you could hear shooting which sent a pang of fear through Shelby's stomach. Who was shooting and what were they shooting at? "Silence! Stop where you're at or we'll shoot," a booming voice yelled, loud enough to deafen anyone. _

_One of the soldiers in the lead of the line stepped forward as everyone seemed to follow his command and stop, looking at this man with wide eyes. _

"_There's been a national emergency declared. Vacate this premises immediately and move toward the safe zone in the center of Atlanta. That will be all, no questions asked," the soldier snapped. _

_Shelby looked up at Gale who was already nodding to Astin as he pushed through the crowd again. They finally reached the back door and Astin shoved it open. It was marked for emergency exit only though this situation apparently qualified…but what exactly was wrong? _

_Shelby gave one last glance to the soldiers who were retreating out of the giant hole they'd made with a few rams or something and heard more shooting. They immerged in an alley and just stared at each other for a moment, in shock._

"_What in God's name is going on?" Gale breathed. _

_Shelby squeezed his hand as he pulled her into a hug. She breathed in the smell of him and tried to calm herself after what ever had just happened. They said something about gathering in the center of Atlanta…but for what? _

_Her thoughts immediately went back to her mother who had warned her about something going on…if only she'd paid attention to that news broadcast. But instead she'd been too wrapped up in going with her friends, now she could be in real danger. Damn, sometimes she could be such an airhead. To think she criticized those cheerleader types at her school when sometimes their mindsets came very close to being the same. _

_Astin ran his hand through his hair with a fearful look in his eyes, "I don't know…they said something about heading to the center of the city? I've got to get back home to see if my mom's alright." _

_Astin's parents were separated before he was born with him primarily living with his dad. Shelby's situation was similar in that she lived with her mom, though her father had died many years earlier in a car accident. Gale was the lucky one and had both of his parents, being next-door neighbors with Astin. _

"_My mom said something about…oh God I can't remember…but something was on the news that seemed fairly important to her. She tried to tell me not to go but…" Shelby said, tears beginning to cloud her vision. _

_Why was she crying? What was there to cry about? Some freaky stuff was sure going on but that didn't mean she had to cry. Shelby wiped the tears on her shirt before anyone noticed as they began to walk down the alley towards their houses. An idea suddenly popped into Shelby's head, her phone! Of course, why hadn't she thought about it before? _

_She yanked her right hand from Gale's and dug into her pocket to grab the small blue slider phone. On the screen was one missed call from Mom, which she immediately called the house number again. Shelby kept walking, keeping her gaze down and listening to the ringer buzz but no one pick up. Nervousness was beginning to build up in the pit of her stomach because it never took mom this long to answer the phone. She was one of those kind of people who picked up almost instantly. _

_To her concern the phone went straight to voice mail. Shelby frowned and stuffed the phone back in her pocket, grabbing Gale's hand again. She was off in her own troubling thoughts while it seemed Gale and Astin were deep in conversation. "They said we had to go to the center of the city. I'm sure our parents would already be there looking for us. After all the guy said whatever it was is a national emergency," Gale argued. _

_Astin shook his head and kept his gaze forward as they fast walked down the seemingly never-ending alley. _

"_I'm telling you we have to get home. I don't care if it's a national emergency or not," Astin pressed. _

_Gale's grip tightened on Shelby's fingers, "We have our own safety to worry about too Astin!"_

"_My mom's not answering," Shelby finally said, coming out of thoughts that depicted possible reasons why she wasn't answering._

"_Now don't you tell me something isn't wrong there," Astin snorted. _

"_Look we don't even know what the hell this emergency is-" Gale was interrupted by what sounded like a gurgling scream. _

_Shelby whipped around and saw…something coming towards them from about fifteen feet away in the direction they had just came from. Her eyes widened as she tried to figure out what exactly was struggling to catch up to them. _

_Visible only because of the few alley lights, it resembled a human though it's skin was pale white and caked with what looked like dried blood along with other substances that she couldn't possibly identify. It's clothes looked to be pretty decent though stained and ripped in places. Its face was absolutely hideous… Part of its jaw hung at a not natural angle and what looked like a huge hole was ripped in the side of its neck. The face was distorted like that of a human though with many ripped, bleeding patches and empty, soulless eyes. Whenever it was alive, if the beast had been, it resembled the body of an older man. _

_Shelby heard a scream and snapped out of her daze as she realized it came from her mouth. The thing was less that ten feet away and had its arms out and mouth open with noises of hunger escaping it. Gale grabbed her hand and yanked her away just in time before the thing would have grabbed her. They took off full fledge on foot this time, feet pounding against the asphalt of the alley._

"_What the hell is that?" Astin yelled. _

_They kept running as fast as they could, getting farther away from the thing that was not nearly as fast due to it's horrible condition. Shelby couldn't believe what she just saw and clung to Gale's hand with all of her might. They finally reached the street that just hours ago Shelby had walked here on the beautiful evening. _

_The street lights dotted parts of the road with light and as Shelby looked left she could make out the sound of gunfire again, mixed with screams and flashes of light that came from the guns. It was so loud it was making her ears ring. Another gurgling sound came from that direction and the streetlight another three of those hideous…zombies were visible. These were moving much faster and seemed to have no problem getting around, contrary to the one they saw back in the alley. _

_Above their heads in a tall office building the sound of gunfire mixed with breakings glass could be heard. Shards of glass began to fall on their heads, as they broke off into a sprint in the opposite direction of where they needed to go. Shelby was panting, this kind of running she wasn't used to. The gunfire seemed to be nipping at their heels as they turned a sharp corner and down another street, which was used as a last resort (aka back way) to Shelby's street._

_Astin and Gale lived two street's over so they could all pretty easily get to where they needed to go quickly. Shelby had let go of Gale's hand and pumped their arms as they tore down the asphalt street, their heels slamming the hard ground and their breathing heavy. The gunfire stopped, evidently hitting those zombies (which is what Shelby decided to call them from now on) but could still be heard in the near distance. Thankfully this street seemed to be relatively desolate except for all the abandoned cars that they were constantly dodging. _

_The buildings on this street gave way to a few houses, more specifically Gale and Astin's road, which was a sort of relief. They didn't stop running as they ran down the street, this time passing people who were just running down the street since the car situation was a nightmare. _

"_My street is one two over, I'm going to go to the end of this block and head over to my house!" Shelby yelled as they neared Astin's house. _

_They came to a stop in front of the small, brick two-story house that Shelby practically grew up in. Gale grabbed her hand and jerked him to her, embracing her in a rough hug. _

_He pulled back and looked her in the eyes, "You be careful. We'll be there before you know it…don't stop, for anything. I love you." _

"_I love you too," she said between gasping breaths from their mad dash. _

_Gale closed the distance between them with a gentle kiss and pulled away, giving her one last worried look. Astin gave her a nod but a look that screamed be careful and ran down the sidewalk up to his house. Gale released her hand and Shelby took off running again, turning the corner and tearing towards her house. She dodged some of the hysterical people and pumped her arms to go faster as she noticed more of those zombies chasing some of the people._

_Clearly avoiding them she tried not to look at some of the people while the zombies tore into their necks, bathing their faces in the blood of the victim. It was enough to make her vomit though she feared for her mother's safety, which kept her running as fast as possible all the way up to the door. _

_To her fear it was standing wide open as she took the couple steps in one bound, breathing heavy as she tore into the living room that was in shambles. The feeling in the pit of her stomach was worsening with every step she took into the house. Glancing around she noticed the couch was overturned and lamp was busted on the floor. She noticed that peeking out from the other side of the couch was a stain…her stomach pitted at what she guessed it was from. The TV was still on and had reduced to static, making the dead silent house even more eerie with that white noise being the only sound besides her breath._

_Shelby's voice shook as she tried to calm her ragged breathing, "Mom?"_

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><p><strong><em>AN: The flashback will continue next chapter :P I thought this was a neutral stopping point! Please review! It will make my day and it doesn't take that much time :)_**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_A guttural moan responded, sending horrible fear through the pit of Shelby's stomach. Her eyes were huge and fixated on the strange pool of…she couldn't say it, as one of her greatest fears was met in a head on collision._

_A pale hand drug itself through the pool before the figure stood, half leaning on the couch. Shelby suppressed a scream as she looked into the eyes of what used to be her mother, but was now a zombie. There was obviously a struggle from the scenery around them. A huge hunk of flesh had been torn out of her neck, leaving bits of flesh hanging off at odd angles. _

_The blood, Shelby hadn't seen so much in her life. It was matted in her hair, plastered all down her ripped shirt and running down from the gash in her neck where it all pooled at her feet. Her eyes were replaced with those of a monster, eyes of hunger. _

_Shelby began to back away slowly, her breath coming in shallow gasps. The zombie that used to be her mother growled and tripped clumsily over the coffee table, coming at her with a hungry look. Shelby screamed and tripped up the stairs, climbing on all fours part of the time to get away from the monster. The zombie moaned again as it took the stairs in a couple bounds, staining the carpet of the stairs with blood. _

_Shelby ran down the hall to her room with the zombie right on her tail. She turned and slammed the door, closing it on her mother's hand…causing it to sever and fall at her feet, still twitching. Shelby was shaking like mad as she slid to the floor with her mother slamming against the other side of the door. She buried her head in her trembling hands and exhaled more jagged breaths before the tears came like a waterfall. _

_Before she knew it she was sobbing, tears rapidly soaking her shirt and curling into a ball against the door. Through the tears she cried out, shaking and trying to comprehend how this happened. If she had only stayed like her mother had wanted then…this wouldn't have happened. Her mother wouldn't have turned into one of them… _

_A wail escaped her lips and her vision once again clouded over with a swell of tears. All she could really understand was that something horrible was happening…or could it be a dream? _

"_Wake up," she croaked, pinching herself on the arm. _

_When nothing happened another sob escaped her lips, "Wake up!" _

_Still nothing. She pinched the skin on her right arm as hard as she could, sending a sharp pain up her arm. _

"_Wake up damn it! Wake up!" She cried, giving in and realizing that this wasn't a dream…even as mush as she wanted it to be. _

_More warm tears ran down her face, as she lay perpendicular to the floor, the tears blurring her vision. Rationally what could be happening? That was the question…and she didn't have an answer. All she knew was that Astin and Gale would be coming back soon and hopefully they could get to safety. If there even was such thing as safety anymore. After her own mother tried to kill her, what couldn't be a threat? _

_Shelby wiped the tears onto her shirt and tried to focus her mind. She might not be coming back here, that and they would need supplies. Why wasn't she ever given instruction on what to pack in a zombie apocalypse? Why were there no drills on this? Grabbing the closest thing, her black school backpack, dumped all of the contents on the bed. Yanking the closet door open she grabbed a couple t-shirts, an extra pair of jeans, and an extra jacket. Rushing over to her bathroom she threw a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hairbrush, and various other items into the bag. A small, blue plush pillow was lying on her bed…so for good measure she stuffed that in there too. _

_Shelby jumped at the sound of something slamming against her door. A growling could be heard at the door as it was slammed into again and again. Either her mother or another zombie had found her. Fear shot through her veins as she heard the door crack with each collision. _

"_Shelby!" A voice yelled, echoing through the house. _

_She recognized Gale's voice instantly, like music to her ears at this moment. "Gale! I'm in my room!" She screamed back. _

_Footsteps could be heard from the mudroom and then they vanished with the now carpet flooring. Her excitement instantly died as she realized that the slamming on the door had stopped…and Gale was supposed to be coming to her. _

"_Oh shit, Gale wait!" Shelby yelled. _

_Throwing the door open she could hear some crashing from down stairs. There wasn't a zombie right in her face so she shouldered the backpack and bounded down the stairs. Astin was bashing in a skull of a random zombie with his baseball bat from when he played in middle school. Gale also had a metal instead of wooden bat and was pinned against a wall by her mother who was snapping and snarling at his neck. He shot her a sad look as he shoved, getting her off him and throwing her a ground. _

_With one swing the bat connected to her head with a sickening crunch, sending blood splattering on the white of the walls. Her zombie mother just twitched, instantly being killed, and surrounded in a growing pool of tainted blood. Gale dropped the bat and slowly met Shelby's gaze with his own pained one. She stood stunned right by the stairs with the only sound being Astin and Gale's heavy breathing. Gale closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tightly. _

_He buried his face in her hair, "I'm so sorry…I'm sorry. I wouldn't if I didn't have to. I'm sorry, so sorry." _

_Shelby shut her eyes and willed her not to cry, burying her face in his shoulder. Fact of the matter was that he had to, that is if they wanted to continue living. Her mother had been turned into a monster so what appeared to be there and what was before…well she was gone. Still with the facts faced that didn't make it hurt any less. A sniffle escaped as she pulled back looking into his pained blue eyes. A frown didn't look good on his face so she forced a smile. _

"_You did what you had to. It's all right…let's get out of here," she murmured. _

_Gale's eyes brightened a bit, but not much as he pulled away to get the bat. Astin was standing a few feet away with a bat firmly poised in his right hand, staring at her with sympathy in his eyes. _

"_Where do we go?" Shelby asked aloud. _

"_My house was empty…but I saw mom's car crashed at the end of the road. I could see bodies in the front…" Gale whispered, looking at the ground. _

"_My mom was no where to be found. The car was gone and the house was empty," Astin responded. _

_Shelby shook her head, still not able to wrap her head around all of this nonsense. Astin grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, evidently he'd packed too. She took Gale's hand and squeezed it, him meeting her eyes. Shelby really didn't want to face the truth of her next words…but it was the only solid lead to safety they had. _

_She cleared her throat, "What choice do we have? Those people said Atlanta was our best bet." _

"_Let's at least get a look first," Astin responded, taking her stairs two at a time. _

_It took her a second to realize what he was referring to, but pulled Gale's hand as they followed Astin. He pushed the door open to her room, pulling up on the window gently and then with a bit of force as it seemed to be stuck. It opened and he pushed it up, climbing out onto the roof. _

_That was one of the good things about her bedroom because her window was almost parallel the slant of the side roof. Often she found herself sitting out there to look at the stars on summer nights, or simply to read a book in peace. The roof wasn't slanted enough so that they could roll off easily so it was ideal for things like this. _

_Shelby slipped her leg over the window and climbed out onto the roof, joining Astin who was looking at the Atlanta skyline to their right. Gale reached them as they all were wide eyed at the carnage that seemed to be unfolding in the city. From miles around they could see undead bodies crowding the streets, staggering around like hungry animals. They were everywhere, and to think these were once people with normal lives and normal problems. From the city skyline they could hear the sound of gunfire that was still prominent over all else. _

_Shelby jumped about a foot in the air and clapped her hands over her ears as the sound of a plane or something flew overhead. It zipped towards the city, leaving a loud sound trailing behind it and them confused. Gale had a hold of her waist as she moved her hands to her mouth, watching the horror scene. They couldn't see the plane itself in the darkness…but evidently it had dropped something because the next thing they knew… portions of Atlanta were going up in flames. It was like they had dropped some mini bombs on the city, because a couple clouds of orange flames were illuminating the dark night. It seemed the few bombs that were being dropped in the vicinity of somewhere close. _

"_There are probably people there! What the hell are they doing?" Astin yelled as they watched the flames crawl higher into the sky. _

_Shelby's eyes were wide as she leaned heavily into Gale, feeling absolutely horrible for those that did go to the center of the city…it would have been suicide, that is if bombs had reached there. She tried to think on the bright side, what if they were all under ground or had been escorted out? _

"_C'mon, there is nothing left for us here. We need to head to the highway and get as far away from here as possible," Gale said solemnly, breaking the deathly silence. _

_Astin was still glaring at the flames with a hopeless look in his eyes and his fists clenched. Shelby grabbed his arms and brought him out of his daze, where he slowly nodded. _

_One by one they filed back into the house, down the street, and found their way to the highway where they got lucky. They happened to be at the right place at the right time._

* * *

><p>"<em>Get in! Quick!" The man yelled, throwing open the bus doors and looking in the rear view mirror at the advancing zombies. He was going to be lucky if they all pulled through this. Atlanta was a mad house, especially in the middle of the night. You couldn't see worth a damn and for starters he about hit these kids who were sprinting down the road running from the walkers. He didn't even wait for them to get seated before he slammed his foot on the glass, closing the bus doors firmly on a walker's hand, causing it to sever and fall to the floor with a thump. The bus engine roared in response, flooding the engine with fuel ready to be burned as they rocketed away from the herd in the distance. The man breathed as sigh of relief as he cleared the herd. Now his biggest challenge was just to avoid all the abandoned cars on the road…and the frantic people. <em>

_Shelby, Astin, and Gale took the back seat, stumbling and tripping to get back there around all of the stuff. It was making it all the more better that the bus was pitch black. Luckily they were all able to squeeze into an empty back seat. Shelby plopped down, sandwiched between Gale and Astin. They were all three breathing heavy from their run and of course still shocked from what had happened. It was all too much to handle at once. _

_They had made the mile run to the highway in pretty good time, dodging zombies everywhere and frantic people. Cars were stopped or stalled randomly on the highway and zombies were just flooding from the streets. It seemed that the plague was spreading, because hour by hour it seemed that the population density in Atlanta was getting to be thicker and thicker. The zombies would eventually run out of flesh and have to seek more of the living. _

_Shelby cuddled up against Gale who responded by resting his head on hers and put his arm around her. In all reality they were lucky to be alive. They probably wouldn't have even been seen if the driver hadn't almost hit them in the first place. A massive herd had been chasing them and the odds weren't looking good, until the stranger in the school bus showed up. Astin passed Gale his bag and bat, along with Shelby's. He set them in the next seat, but they were shoved onto the floor with a thump._

"_Mmm, what the hell. What's the big idea? Can't a girl get some rest here," a voice muttered groggily. _

"_Sorry ma'am," Gale apologized. _

_The voice muttered something unrecognizable before the bus fell silent again, matching the mood and the night. _

"_I can't believe we made it out," Shelby whispered, tears beginning to form in her eyes. _

_She couldn't see anything except for the faint forms of her best friends beside her, but that was enough to let her know that no matter what…it was going to be okay. No matter what this crazy world was going to throw at her as long as she had them she could make it. They would make it together. _

"_Go to sleep angel. I won't let anything happen to you," Gale murmured in her ear, kissing her forehead softly. _

_Shelby leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling warm tears slide down her cheeks anyway. She couldn't help but think of her mother…of the way she stared with all signs of life sucked from those yellow eyes. The instincts of a predator became dominant and she wasn't her mother anymore. Shelby tried to push the thoughts out of her mind and sighed into Gale's shoulder. Slowly she drifted off to sleep with the lull of the bus engine as her lullaby._

* * *

><p><em>Less than a week later…<em>

_They are running, again. It seems as if Shelby's life consists of running, pain, and fear now. They were fine minutes ago with the man that saved them, Doctor David, who was pulling into a small town. Originally the plan was just to pass through but then he decided to stop for gas. _

_As usual Gale, Astin, and Shelby got out to stretch, along with almost everyone else. They were all eager for some freedom and of course the occasional chance for a leg stretch after riding on the bus almost constantly towards wherever they were going. It came out of nowhere and everyone was too busy to notice… _

_A heard of the undead came running from behind one of the buildings and straight for them. Avery was the first to see them and yelled a warning it seemed just in time. Shelby's stomach clenched up as they hobbled along with hunger in their eyes. Victoria screamed and the group gathered their stuff up, trying to get into the bus. _

_Doctor David shoved the gas pump back in the slot and took off running, trying to get the bus started. The engine wouldn't turn over and the dead were upon them before they could all get into the bus. Shelby's hand was jerked backwards by Gale, who dragged her the opposite way. They ran towards a small house with one of those porches sort of inside the house. _

"_There's someone in there!" Astin yelled as they ran, the undead hard on their heels. _

_Shelby held onto Gale's hand for dear life as her feet slammed against the ground, nearing the farmhouse. Astin lead the way as they ran around back, pulling the back door handle. It was locked. _

_Astin pounded on the door, "Open the door dammit!" _

_The snarls of the zombies could be heard feet away as Astin yelled and pounded on the door. At the last possible second it open and they were both shoved in by Gale, who slammed the door. It was pitch black in whatever this room was with the sounds of the herd clawing against the door on the other side. _

_Suddenly a figure appeared in the doorway, holding what looked like one of those old fashion oil lamps. She was a plump woman, wearing a light blue dress and with her hair in a bun at the back of her head. A steely look was in her gaze, as she looked the three over, not seeming too happy. _

"_Look what you've done. Now they know we're here," she said in a low voice. _

_The lady didn't seem all that happy, but Shelby was sure glad she'd decided to open that door. A shudder passed over her at the thought of dying like her mother, being a victim. _

"_We're sorry ma'am, thank you for opening the door," Astin breathed, running his hand through his hair and looking relieved. _

_The sounds of the zombies could still be heard outside, what a racket they made. _

"_You kids are being stupid, running around outside like that," she snapped. _

"_Our group's bus broke down," Gale spoke up. _

"_Whatever. Just move along, we're going onto the porch," the woman said. _

_She disappeared and they followed her shadow from the light into the front room where it was a bit brighter. In the corner was a ratty mattress and a pile of blankets. Various chairs and other random things were strung about the living room, which appeared to be the main living space. Like Shelby guessed the porch was in fact attached to the house with glass that allowed you to see out. _

_Clutching Gale's hand she looked out to see the bus surrounded by the zombies. Her heart sunk and hoped everyone got in safely…because they had a small group as it was. _

"_That them?" the woman asked. _

"_Yes," Gale responded. _

"_Prolly' all dead." _

_Sadly that was a real possibility, they'd been careless, the one time the guard had been let down, this happened. _

"_Wait…" Astin said, pressing against the glass to try to get a better look. _

_The bus began to move forward the slightest, which meant he got it started! Shelby saw Eli, Liam, and Avery leaning out the windows to shoot some of the zombies dead, which was working pretty well. The sound of bullets being fired echoed everywhere. Sad to say that would only attract more of them. Out of nowhere the bus's horn blared and they stopped momentarily…for what? _

"_They're waiting for us!" Gale exclaimed. _

"_We've got to go!" Shelby said. _

_Astin pushed the front door open and ignored the screaming woman, yelling for them to get back in the house. Just around the corner came the heard of zombies by the door, growling and snarling, wishing for their flesh. _

"_Go ahead of me!" Gale yelled to Shelby as they ran for their lives to catch up to the bus that was slowly pulling away. _

_Shelby did as he said and let go of his hand as they reached the road with Astin in the lead, waving his hands and his bat around, screaming for the bus to wait. Shelby pumped her arms as fast as she could and was filled with relief when they slowed down the bus. _

_The back door popped open with Henry and Liam standing there, hands open to pull them in. Astin was the first one inside and ushered for Shelby to hurry up. She looked behind her and reached for Gale's hand, when the worst possible thing could happen. _

_It was almost like it was in slow motion…his fingers were inches from hers when a zombie grabbed his shoulders, throwing him off balance. Gale stumbled and fear filled his blue eyes as the creatures began to surround him, hunger in their eyes. Shelby could hear herself screaming as Astin caught her hand, pulling her up into the bus. Shelby didn't lose eye contact with Gale as he gave her one last loving glance before his neck was tore into and his body disappeared beneath a pile of hungry flesh eaters. _

"_Gale! Gale!" She screamed, fighting and thrashing against Astin who had her in a restraint to keep her from jumping out of the bus.__She wailed and fought as Liam latched the back door firmly with Doctor David hitting the accelerator and leaving Gale behind…to be claimed by the undead._

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you like it so far :) the next chapter will be the start of returning to the present for Astin and Shelby. I haven't decided yet if these characters are going to meet TWD people yet, but I'm sure I'll figure something out soon. Please tell me how you like it, review. Reviews make my day, and motivate me :)**_  
><em>


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